‘This one is on me’: Will Howard takes blame for K-State’s ugly loss at Oklahoma State
If you’re looking for just one reason why the Kansas State football team suffered an ugly 29-21 loss against Oklahoma State on Friday at Boone Pickens Stadium, start with this: Will Howard had a miserable game at quarterback.
Some may consider that to be a harsh statement. Not Howard.
He offered up a scathing self assessment of his play after he completed just 15 of 34 passes for 152 yards to go along with one touchdown and three critical interceptions.
“I’d say this one is on me,” Howard said. “Obviously, I can’t put it all on myself. But I take the brunt of the blame for what went on on offense. That is what it is. It’s on me. I have got to be better.”
An ugly trend is beginning to emerge for Kansas State’s starting quarterback. Howard has become a turnover machine this season.
The junior passer has thrown seven interceptions in his first five games, which is a number that is simply too high for the Wildcats to thrive on offense. He threw three interceptions against Oklahoma State, and they were all incredibly costly. His first gave the Cowboys momentum, his second resulted in six points for the Cowboys and his third came with K-State trying to tie the score in the fourth quarter.
“Bad decisions,” Howard said. “Bad throws.”
Just like that, an offense that averaged 39.5 points across its first four games only managed three touchdowns against an Oklahoma State team that had been playing well below its normal standards.
“We didn’t play well, and I didn’t play well,” Howard said. “I’m going to own every bit of that, because I didn’t play well enough for us. I made way too many mistakes and can’t say much other than that.”
It is interesting to watch Howard play so inconsistently this season.
He has never been infamous for turnovers before. A year ago, he only had four interceptions in seven games while he led the Wildcats to a Big 12 championship. Many expected him to play at an all-conference level this season. In some ways he has. Howard is already at 1,234 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. Those are good numbers ... until you add in seven picks.
Worst of all, Howard has thrown at least one interception in every game this season.
Howard is committing turnovers at a high rate, which shouldn’t happen as he matures within the K-State offense.
“Will has got to play better, obviously,” K-State head coach Chris Klieman said. “We have got to get open. When people play man coverage, we have got to be able to not get tugged and grabbed. We have got to protect better. We have got to call some better plays for Will. I have got to do a better job of continuing to show him what I’m seeing and what they’re doing defensively. But we can’t continue to turn the ball over.”
The biggest mistake that Howard made on Friday was his second interception, which occurred late in the second quarter with K-State trying to score in the final minutes before halftime.
Howard did the one thing he absolutely could not do in that situation. He had a critical miscommunication with wide receiver Phillip Brooks and threw an interception to Oklahoma State defender Cameron Epps, who returned the pick for a touchdown that gave the Cowboys a 20-7 lead.
Brooks ran a double-move route in which he motioned as if he was going to try and catch a pass near the sideline before he cut up field for a deeper throw. Problem was, Howard threw to the sideline and Epps was ready for it.
“The guy was guarding him man to man,” Howard said, “and (Brooks) tried to go over top. I tried to go back shoulder, and (we) weren’t on the same page. It was a terrible decision.”
Things got so bad for Howard that Klieman said he discussed — with offensive coordinator Collin Klein — sending backup Avery Johnson into the game. But they ultimately decided to stick with Howard because they didn’t know how Johnson, who is a freshman, would respond in a difficult road environment.
Fans will clamor for a quarterback change until Howard gets back on track. But Howard doesn’t seem worried about outside criticism or his job security.
He just wants to get K-State back to its winning ways.
“My promise is,” Howard said, “that I’m going to work my tail off to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”
The journey starts with Howard cutting down on his turnovers. Otherwise, K-State will have more games like the one we saw on Friday night.
